There’s clearly a belief in Toronto that Dennis Robertson may not have been operating in a straightforward manner in dealing with the Raptors

LAS VEGAS – Kawhi Leonard is now officially a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, having somewhat surprisingly signed only a three-year deal with the club on Wednesday, with an opt-out after the second year.

He’s gone, having acted professionally in a strange, but effective regular season and then during as dominant a playoff run as the NBA has seen in some time. But there’s clearly a belief in Toronto that his uncle and chief adviser, Dennis Robertson, a man who more than wore out his welcome in San Antonio with the Spurs and that fan base in trying to force a Leonard move to the Los Angeles Lakers over a year ago, may not have been operating in a straightforward manner in dealing with the Raptors. That’s the sense one gets having spent nearly a week here in Vegas and talking to a variety of league sources either from the Raptors or other organizations.

Heck, Raptors president Masai Ujiri all but came out and brought up Robertson during a brief media session with a few of us as the Summer League Raptors took on the New York Knicks late Tuesday night.

Ujiri was asked if he thought Leonard had been up front throughout a long free agency process that involved flights to and from Los Angeles to Toronto and a lot of waiting as Leonard worked behind the scenes to find a way to team up with another superstar, be it Kevin Durant, Paul George or perhaps somebody else (though sources say a deal with Oklahoma City for George or Russell Westbrook was never going to happen, for various reasons). Ujiri said “Kawhi was,” before smirking and pausing.

Which led to the follow-up about somebody potentially not being up front.

“Ha, either way I know what we’re dealing with here and I appreciate what the process was and I know free agency, I know how it works,” Ujiri said. “It’s not my first rodeo. You know things are going to go up and down. This was a different kind of free agency. It’s high stakes and we understood that.”

Those around the league believe Toronto did everything right, everything it could to convince Leonard that his long-term future should be as a Raptor. Sources say the team believed it was in it all the way until the start of the meeting with Leonard and his camp. At that point, sources say the thought was it was over.

And here recall the use of “high stakes” in Ujiri’s media appearance. Multiple sources here in the desert, where the entire NBA is assembled, said Uncle Dennis was asking for the moon, or something equivalent, from any pursuing franchise. Things Ujiri – and those above him – either couldn’t, or wouldn’t offer. Things beyond just straight greenbacks.

It’s here that we might point out that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is worth somewhere around $50 billion U.S. We’ll put this as delicately as possible. Free agency and tampering in the NBA continues to spin out of control and it’s all but impossible to enforce gifts or promises to family members. There’s no evidence to suggest that happened here, just that it wouldn’t shock anyone in this day and age, given the deep pockets of some owners.

That Leonard only signed for two years is also interesting. The Clippers surrendered perhaps the biggest trade package in league history (and perhaps more than that) to secure Leonard and George, yet might only have both, in a worst-case scenario, for a couple of seasons. It makes perfect sense for Leonard and his camp, as has all of this, since Leonard would be eligible in a couple more years for a bigger contract, given his 10-year playing status at that time.

In any event, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the media on Tuesday that there is “work to do” in terms of cleaning up the free agency process. That could mean somehow fixing tampering or early contact rules, or otherwise. But nothing is likely changing anytime soon. Thunder general manager Sam Presti even took a sly shot at the shenanigans in a statement released Wednesday thanking George for his time with the Thunder.

The statement began – and this was not a coincidence – with a clear shot at the backdoor maneuvering of Leonard and Paul to join forces.

“From the time that Paul and his representation made us aware of what had been transpiring and their subsequent request, our focus as an organization was identifying the best paths for our future,” Presti said.

What had been transpiring and what will continue to transpire are not great looks for the NBA, but it’s hard to say what can be done about any of it.

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